THE MORALITY OF LIFE INSURANCE.

“But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”

Many persons have doubted the propriety of insuring their life, through a mistaken notion that insurance is distrusting God or his protecting care. But no one doubts the propriety of investing funds in safe and undoubted securities, that the heirs may derive benefit of them. Yet, what is the difference of the two in respect to the government and providential arrangements of our heavenly benefactor? Why should not we trust our property without any security? Because, it is not rational, wise or judicious.

A life insurance is an investment of funds for the benefit of the heirs. It is nothing more or less.

A man of the age of forty wishes to secure to his family $1,000, to protect them from want in the event of his death. The house that he has labored to build for a home to his family, stands on ground mortgaged to the person of whom he purchased it for $1,000. He hopes in a few years to acquire a competency and discharge the mortgage. But, he has no lease of his life. Its brittle thread may be unexpectedly sundered, and he may leave his wife and children destitute, whose support and care required all his ability. The widow cannot pay the incumberance on the property, and must soon be without a home. But, if the husband had made a deposit with a Life Insurance Company of $32 each year, then at the time of his death his widow would have been furnished at once with the means to pay the mortgage, and retain the possession of a home that no creditor of her husband could wrest from her. Is not this providing for his own? Is this distrusting God? Is it not employing the means by which the Providence of God acts, to make safe and valuable deposit? Has not he set the bounds that you cannot pass? Are you careful in all your doings to accomplish the desire of your heart? Where is to be found a certainty? In the insurance of the life, and in

that alone.

Will it not be to you a source of high gratification at the hour of dying, that while in health you made that provision in a Life Insurance Company that will be valuable to your family when you can render them no other aid?

No one can doubt for a moment that money will give more effectual benefit to a widow and her fatherless children, than all the mere sympathy of a selfish world.— Brewster.

COMMERCIAL SWINDLING IN LONDON.

It is necessary again to warn the mercantile public against some dexterous persons, who, by means of forged letters, and other documents, are endeavoring to obtain advances from foreign bankers and their connections in London. A case has just occurred in which a foreign letter, dated New York, purporting to be from Baron Roenne, the representative of the German Central Power in the United States, was addressed to a firm in London, and by means of which it was sought to obtain credit for $140,000. The letter stated that Mr. V. Greisheim had been left sole executor to a brother in Ohio, who had died with large landed possessions, besides $176,000, which were now lying at Mr. V. Greisheim's disposal at New York, and that this Mr. V. Greisheim, who was at present in Europe, would call upon the firm in question to make arrangements so as to draw for the amount. Of course upon presenting himself Mr. V. Greisheim wished his draught on New York to be cashed, but upon this being refused he was willing to wait while it was sent over for collection. The reply from Baron Roenne was that he knew nothing of the parties, and the bill was accordingly sent back protested. Meanwhile, however, the pretended Mr. V. Greisheim had started from London to Paris, whence he had written to the London firm requesting them to hold the proceeds of the bill, as soon as they should be received, at the disposal of his brother-in-law, a Colonel V. Obenreiter, and having obtained their reply, stating that his request should be attended to, he appears to have gone to Munich, where by making use of his original story, coupled with the letter of the London firm, together with another and subsequent letter (to which their signature has been forged) announcing that they have placed the $140,000 at his credit, he has endeavored to negotiate his draught at one of the leading banking-houses for £3,000, adroitly professing not to desire cash, but simply Frankfort paper to that extent. Here, however, he has also been foiled, the bankers having taken the precaution of writing to London; but the letters seem to have been so ingeniously fabricated, and the entire story so well got up, that without the publicity we have now given to the matter, it would be probable some houses might ultimately be taken off their guard.

OF PURCHASING MERCHANDISE FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINED.

A case of considerable general interest was recently decided before Judge Jones in New York city. It seems that a man by the name of Morris Jacobs bought a valuable case of Sinchews of Messrs. Godfrey, Pattin-on & Co., for cash, paying them by a sight draft on H. Pincus, of Philadelphia. He sent a porter to take the goods away, and left three or four hours after, in the Sarah Sands, for Liverpool. Mr. Pincus declined accepting the draft, and it was ascertained that Jacobs had cheated other parties in the same way. The house thus defrauded, set about tracing the goods, and found that the case valued at about $6,000, had been taken to the Carleton House, where Jacobs boarded, and from thence had come, in some way, into the possession of Levi Drucker, 26 Cedar Street.

They visited Mr. Drucker's room, at the Hotel de Paris, where they found a wrapper which they identified, and on meeting that gentleman, he acknowledged possession, but said that he had bought them in a regular way. Suit was immediately brought against him for the goods. Judge Jones charged the jury that the evidence tracing the goods directly from Jacobs to Druker, was defective, but the jury, being under the new code judges of the law, as well as the facts, brought in a verdict for the plaintiff's for value of the goods, with interest. Although this at first might seem to be hard upon the innocent holder of merchandise honestly obtained, yet a moment's reflection will satisfy every reader that it is just.

If a merchant purchases valuable goods of a total stranger, or of an acquaintance even, under very suspicious circumstances, he should be made to understand that he does so at his own risk, and proof of the honesty of the transaction must rest upon him. Jacobs could not have had over three hours in which to make the sale and receive the money, and the transaction must have taken place at his room in the hotel, a suspicious place for the location of a silk house. We trust this will put merchants on their guard against purchasing goods which may have been stolen or obtained by fraud.

THE ECONOMY OF EGGS, AND THE EGG TRADE.

Some very interesting experiments relative to the production of eggs, were made about ten years ago by Mr. Mouat, of Stoke, near Guildford. He obtained three pullets of the Polish breed, on the 1st December, 1835, which had been hatched in June previous, and they commenced laying on the 15th of the same month. They laid from the 1st December, 1835, to the 1st December, 1836, between them, 524. During the year they consumed three bushels of barley, seventeen pounds of rice, and a small portion of barley meal and peas, the cost of which amounted to about 16s. 10d. The number of eggs being 524, gives about 31 eggs per every shilling expended, and, assuming the weight of each egg to be one and a quarter ounce, we have a result of fortyone pounds of the most nutritious food that can possibly be procured at the low cost of 44d. per pound; or if these eggs were, instead of being consumed, sold to a retailer, a profit of about 100 per cent accrued to the producer. Out of 72,000,000 eggs annually imported into England from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries, France contributes 55,000,000. Calculating the first cost at 41d. per dozen, England pays annually to France for eggs about £77,000.

OF DISCOUNTS ON MERCHANDISE.

A late number of the London Economist makes the following remarks on this subject:

"There are many and serious practical losses sustained by want of a clear understanding of the effect of discounts. The net cost of the £100 of goods, purchased by A at 20 per cent discount, would be £80; the net cost of the same, purchased by B at 30 per cent discount, would be £70; the difference therefore, between these two sums would be the measure of the cheapness of the goods of B, compared with the goods of A: that difference is £10, which on £80 is 12 per cent. The subject is one of great importance to illiterate persons, who very often, from great perseverance and ingenuity, rise into very important positions in trade. We know an instance of a very deserving person being ruined by a miscalculation of discounts. The article he manufactured he at first supplied to retail dealers at a large profit of about 30 per cent. He afterwards confined his trade almost exclusively to large wholesale houses, to whom he charged

the same price, but under discount of 20 per cent, believing that he was still realizing 10 per cent for his own profit. His trade was very extensive; and it was not till after some years that he discovered the fact, that in the place of making 10 per cent profit, as be imagined by this mode of making his sales, he was realizing only 4 per cent. To £100 of goods he added 30 per cent, and invoiced them at £130. At the end of each month, in the settlement of accounts, amounting to some thousands of pounds with individual houses, he deducted 20 per cent, or 26 on each £130, leaving £104 net for every £100 value of goods at prime cost, in place of £110, as he all along expected. It is by far the simplest and best plan to conduct transactions at net prices, or subject only to such moderate discount as may fairly apply to an early, in place of a distant, payment.

SMUGGLING IN RUSSIA.

The following statements of smuggling, derived from a reliable source, will serve to illustrate the influence of high or prohibitory tariffs on the manners and morals of a people :

The line of frontier between Prussia and Russia is becoming the seat of a formidable system of smuggling, carried on by armed bands of men, who in some cases, after escorting their wagons to points within the Russian territory, have made their retreat with such military precision and order, that it is believed they must have turned the discipline acquired in the Prussian army to good account. The border country may be described as in a perpetual state of war, and that of the worst kind; the Russian preventive corps have the severest instructions, and carry them out in the severest manner; but the smugglers are often more numerous and quite as well trained, and know the ground perfectly, and thus set them at defiance. Unfortunately, another "border" practice has lately become more frequent-the smuggler bands have become robbers. One of them, headed by a man named Krotinus, is now notorious; it has plundered the houses of several of the richer Russian landowners on the frontier, returning across the line into Prussia to spend the proceeds. A party of this band recently passed the day at a village wine-house, and were called out towards evening by a man who proved to be the captain himself, "for duty;" he was most particular in inquiring whether his men had behaved respectably and paid for every thing!

OF THE MEASUREMENT OF FOREIGN DEALS.

The revenue authorities of Great Britain, having had under their consideration an ap plication from the Superintendent of the Grand Surrey Canal Docks, London, requesting that the ad-measurement singly of each deal exceeding twenty one feet in length, required under the customs general regulation of October, 1843, may be dispensed with, and that ten per cent only of each assortment of such deals may in future be measured singly, and that the remainder of the importation may be delivered, and the quantity calculated according to the average ascertained from the deals actually measur ed. The customs authorities have sanctioned the adoption of the proposed arrangement with respect to deals and battens exceeding twenty-one feet in length, (not being deck deals,) in those cases in which the parties interested in the disposal of the goods may not object thereto, and orders have been issued for the measure to be carried into effect accordingly. This privilege which was granted at the request of the Dock Company with respect to the measurement of foreign deals imported into the port of London, has, upon a request to that effect from one of the principal outports, been extended to all the ports throughout the United Kingdoms, where the new mode of measurement for the duties will be permitted, if desired from the present time.

SINGULAR COTTON SPECULATION.

A late number of Wilmer and Smith's Liverpool Times furnishes an account of the closing of a cotton speculation, which is almost without a parallel in the obstinacy and fatuity which it exhibits. The following is a statement of the transaction, as we find it recorded in the journal referred to above:

"A lot of cotton has been sold in our market, which was originally purchased during the speculative mania of 1825, and which has, consequently, been held for twenty

four years, the owner refusing to sell for less than it originally cost. The results are as follows: The price in 1825 was, we believe, 1s. 9d. per lb.; the cost, with interest, warehousing, &c., when sold, 10s. 6d. The price realized was 7d. The article, when sold, was of excellent quality, and in good condition. We believe that the neighborhood of Manchester furnished the sensible speculator."

EXCERPTS FOR BUSINESS MEN:

OR, THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS ON BUSINESS, FROM" ACTON."

THE SHREWD MEN. Men who are so shrewd and well-practised in the ensnaring arts of business that no one can possibly circumvent them, are very often self-circumvented in their efforts to surpass others. Nothing is more common than for those persons to deceive themselves, whom nobody can deceive. Thus the simple and the wise are brought at last to occupy the same level, for the cunning of the wise is taxed for the simplicity of the simple. Moreover, in business, as in politics, the crafty are not the profound.

OVERREACHING IN BUSINESS. In dealing, we must in most cases submit to the dealer. The advantage is naturally on his side, but he takes double advantage of an advantage; and frequently, if we buy only an egg, or an oyster, something extra must be paid for the shell; if a bundle, a trifle for the string; and twenty per cent more for the rent of the store. If we have a knack of buying without money and are booked, then the double and single entry process is served upon us.

A BAD BUSINESS. Khol, in his travels in Russia, observes, that while at Moscow he happened to take a stroll through one of the markets of that city. He saw there a man, who sold frozen fish by the pound. "Friend," said he to him, "how do you come on in your business?" replied the man, "very badly."

Thank God,"

DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT COINS IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT.

A most curious and interesting discovery of coins of the 14th century was recently made by the workmen employed in erecting some buildings at the back of the premises of Messrs. Perress and Dallimore, drapers, of High-street, Newport. They consist principally of the pennies of the reigns of Edward I., II. and III., of the mints of London, Canterbury, York, Durham, Berwick, Newcastle, Lincoln, St. Edmund's, Bristol, Dublin, and Waterford, intermixed with many of the reign of Alexander of Scotland. About 2,500 are in the possession of Mr. Perress, and it is known that very many more were taken by the workmen, previously to his becoming aware of the discovery. So large a horde of coin, of one period, has not before been discovered in the island, and is equalled only by that brought to light some few years since at Buriton, in Hampshire, and which consisted exclusively of pennies of the Conqueror. From the circumstance that all the coins now found are immediately anterior to the time of King Richard II., the period of the deposit may not unreasonably be referred to the burning of Newport by the French, in the second year of the reign of that monarch.

LIVERPOOL TRADE WITH AFRICA.

We learn from late Liverpool papers that it is in contemplation by some Liverpool merchants to form an African Company, with a capital of £100,000, in 2,000 shares of £50 each. The following is from the programme :-“ Deposite 10s. per share. Liability to extend only to amount of shares. No dividends to be made until a reserve fund of £50,000 has been accumulated. A call of £10 per share to be made as soon as the committee are formed; and a further call of £10 in three months afterwards, a call of £10 in nine months, and the remainded as the committee may appoint as requsite or required. To be under a committee of management of five individuals to be selected from the shareholders. Operations to com-mence when 1,000 shares are subscribed for.”

CATTLE IMPORTED INTO ENGLAND FROM IRELAND.

It appears from the London Inspectors of Imports and Exports, that in 1848 there was imported into Great Britain, from Ireland, 189,960 oxen, bulls, and cows; 9.992 calves, 324,179 sheep and lambs, and 106,407 swine, and in 1849, 196,042 oxen, bulls and cows, 7,080, calves, 255,682 sheep and lambs, and 110,787 swine.

THE BOOK TRADE.

1-A Copious and Critical English-Latin Lexicon, founded on the German-Latin Dictionary of Dr. Charles Earnest Georges. By the Rev. JOSEPH ESMOND BIDDLE, M. A., of St. Edward Hall, Oxford, author of a “Complete Latin-English Dictionary," &c., and the Rev. THOMAS KERCHEVER ARNOLD, M. A., Rector of Lynden, and late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. First American edition, carefully revised, and contianing a copious dictionary of proper names, from the best sources. By CHARLES ANTHON, Professor of the Greek and Latin languages in Columbia College Royal 8vo., pp. 754. New York: Harper & Brothers.

A slight inspection, as is well remarked, in the preface to the London edition of this work, will show that it aims at a far higher standard of accuracy and completeness, than any of its English predecessors. Indeed, says the same authority, it can hardly be said to have had any predecessor in its kind; for no English Latin Dictionary hitherto published, has ever professed to give any account of the use of words set down, their synonymical distinctions, the niceties connected with their employment by classical writers, with such remarks and corrections as a cursory glance at any important word in this work will prove that it has at least attempted to supply. The learned, and almost Herculean labors, in the department of classical literature, and the eminent success of Dr. Anthon, the American editor, in former works, are circumstances well calculated to inspire confidence in the character of the present enterprise.

-The Whale and His Captors. By the Rev. HENRY T. CHEEVER. Harper & Brothers.

This little work, which may be properly considered a biography of the largest animal in the world, will gladden the heart of many a youth, whose young mind, filled with the imaginary delights of a sea life, eagerly seizes upon every description of its perilous incidents. It would be fortunate, were they always to find so much truth as in this; the dangers, "disagreeables and disgustings," properly added, which is usually felt by boys of a certain age to go to sea. Not only is it an excellent work, full of interest for youth, for whom its many excellent engravings particularly adapt it; but it will be found instructive to more mature minds. The first chapter condenses the facts and figures of the whale fishery, from which, among other statistics, we find that six hundred and ten vessels, amounting to 196,113 tons, are engaged in the American whale fishery, being much less than the number employed in 1844, though no reason for this diminution is stated. The crude value of the fishery was, in 1848, $7,392,488. 3-Fairy Tales from all Nations. By ANTHONY R. MONTALBA. With twenty-four illustrations. 12mo., pp. 359. Harper & Brothers.

The materials of this collection of tales were selected, as we are informed, from more than a hundred volumes of the fairy lore of all nations. Accustomed as we have been to travel in the dusty paths of every-day life, it is not surprising that our taste does not permit us to appreciate fairy tales, although in imagination we sometimes wander into the regions of the supernatural. Still we are inclined to think with Mrs. Embury, that an attractive fairy tale, so thoroughly pervaded by a fine moral truth, that the youthful mind cannot but imbibe its influence, is of far more effective benefit than an overstrained moral tale, where improbable incidents, and exaggerated ideas of excellence, tend to give false views of life, and its duties. The volume contains some thirty tales, from almost as many different languages, including the Arabic, Slavonie, Hebrew, German, Sweedish, Sanskrit, Hungarian, Norman, Bohemian, Franconian, Italian, &c. The admirable illustrations of Richard Doyle, add not a little to the attractiveness of the collection.

4-The History of Alfred the Great. By JACOB ABBOTT. 12mo., pp. 270. New York: Harper & Brothers.

It is the design of this volume, to exhibit, in a popular and compressed style, the biography of a prominent king of England, and one of the principal founders of the British monarchy. The narrative of these facts associated with his career, and which is found in the more extended historical works regarding that country, is here set forth in a clear and comprehensive form, and the book is illustrated by several engravings, which portray, in some degree, the character of the period of which it treats.